Family Research Council Urges HHS to Revoke Any Contract with Baby Body Part Traffickers

WASHINGTON, DC – This afternoon it was reported that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “signed a new contract on July 25 to acquire ‘fresh’ human fetal tissue to transplant into ‘humanized mice’ so that the mice will have a functioning ‘human immune system.’”

Cathy Ruse, Family Research Council’s Senior Fellow for Legal Studies, made the following comments:

“It is difficult to imagine anything more shocking or upsetting than the U.S. government soliciting bids from traffickers in the remains of infant victims of abortion. Every part of this transaction is a tragedy. A woman is driven to abort her baby, too often by coercion or abandonment, and there in the shadows is a government contractor waiting to tear apart the baby's body to deliver pieces in exchange for payment.

“The House Appropriations Committee recently approved a Labor/HHS bill with a provision that restricts HHS from funding fetal tissue research using aborted babies. We agree with that restriction, and do not believe that HHS and the FDA should approve research of this kind. The FDA owes the American people an explanation as to how such a contract could have been approved. Americans demand to have a more ethical government—one that does not traffic in the remains of human beings,” concluded Ruse.